Breakingviews: Burgers and ice buckets

Breakingviews columnists chew over a possible merger of Burger King and Tim Hortons and Roche's $8 bln deal to acquire a drug for a more prevalent disease than social-media phenomenon ALS.

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In the dog days of all this but it's Monday and there are still some just talk about festival -- in the in the area. Oh yeah decaying and Tim Hortons in Canada and that's so -- and not announce that flame broiled. Meets the great -- Canadian though. That the companies have to confirm that there talks but we don't actually know what the -- look what. There's a look quite a bit of discussion about this being a Canadian -- -- and and inversion to campus that are king. We incorporates in the great white north and reduces its overall tax rates -- reduced I think its corporate tax rates like 50%. The weird thing is though of course the Burger King. And Tim Hortons have around the same tax rate now right when he was 20% in recent years. So it's not obvious as to why urging shareholders have gone out of their minds. And you know bought happy -- market stocks up like 50%. Happens -- just to be clear but it but it -- so. It's it's it's kind of bewildering it does that tax thing doesn't seem to be fully. What's driving it -- so they could be some security operatives could be you can really remember the guys behind three G that the three Brazilian guys behind. Are lurking behind and then they're quite good it operational improvements. I'm so that could be part of what they see about putting these guys together. However Tim Hortons has been around since it was owned by Wendy's. It was he aware where people like Nelson Peltz bill Blackmon took a pretty fine microscope it. Not obvious to me that that that market is is games. But it -- they'll want -- Let's just say to William envisions are actually more common than pretty much every deals and -- version -- in this one isn't this is Rocha Swiss company which actually -- attack -- American company can happen. They bought another American company eight Intermune round for eight billion dollars and that's that the play at a drug and admitted drug for disease which it distracts. -- thousand Americans have it and it kills them. It's it's it's fatal disease and the district -- it's the first strike out there that actually seems to. Delay -- seems to help these patients. Right now it's a fairly pricey deal but yet but on the other hand me what went live when you've made about this is. You know at least that thing doesn't mean that affects a lot of people and then we've let this be EA is -- -- -- the same wording literally and listening social media phenomenon. Aren't LS which takes it affects the look if you. I'm sure everything I expected challenges it's like -- -- -- subsequently -- that case that comes the problem is payless is is not that common disease I PF the disease that this drug treats is about five times or -- doesn't get anywhere near the funding but the problem is it doesn't it it just hasn't caught on the media as much and -- is great at raising funds. Distributing out so well that in markets case markets can't look at that -- drug it helps people they can -- these people just -- this may -- -- with it well maybe maybe more but that's -- that thanks -- level breaking --

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